Selous Mapumziko Lodge

There’s more to Selous Game Reserve than safari tours: if you’re planning on sticking around for a while, devote a day or two to wider explorations, making tracks for Stiegler’s Gorge, Selous Grave (the burial place of the military captain for whom the reserve is named) and the scenic Maji Moto hot springs, where fish will nibble your toes. Although there’s plenty in Selous to keep you busy, if you’re lucky enough to be continuing your hols elsewhere, make tracks for the coastal city of Dar es Salaam, just over four hours’ drive away. There’s lots to see here, but if you only have time for a few things, the Village Museum (an open-air museum depicting life in various parts of Tanzania), the Tanzania Centre for Cultural Heritage and the Mwenge Woodcarvers Market are musts. Have kids in tow? You might like to add Kunduchi Wet ‘n’ Wild Water Park to that list. While in Dar es Salaam, take a ferry to the stunning island of Zanzibar, a two-hour ride off the coast: options include a traipse along spectacular beaches, a visit to the Mnarani Marine Turtles Conservation Pond and the Zanzibar Butterfly Centre, scanning the branches for the endangered red colobus monkeys (this is the only place in the world you’ll find them), and a poke around the ruins of Mtoni Palace, built for a sultan and his many wives and children.